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A fond farewell

by in Site News | December 18th, 2009

Gents, ladies, friends of the ITH blogging republic. Today I meet you at an impasse. Today I greet you with somber news. For today is, unfortunately, my last day on the site. I know, I know. You’re devastated.

In fact, many of you probably won’t even notice. With the way my non-ITH work has bundled in the last few months, I haven’t made much of a contribution to this fine site in a while. And now, thanks to a new job blogging college basketball at ESPN.com, I can safely linger on the fringes no more. I must leave.

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The Morning After: Hey, That’s Doc Rivers!

by in Morning After | November 17th, 2009

Did anyone else get a minor chill seeing Doc Rivers in Assembly Hall? I can’t explain this at all. I don’t really like Rivers. I’m not sure he’s a great NBA coach so much as a decent NBA coach who happened to luck into Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen at the right time. And after the Bulls-Celtics series last spring, I’m kind of predisposed to hate everything to do with this current Celtics team.

And yet there I was, getting all goosebumpy as John Laskowski nervously interviewed Rivers at halftime. Rivers talked about his son, Jeremiah, his (Doc’s) excitement on his son’s announcement that he was considering Indiana as a destination, and his desire to just be a parent during IU games. He even had the IU hat on. It was pretty cool. And it was probably the most noteworthy thing about IU’s relatively lackluster win over USC-Upstate Monday night.

This year’s Hoosiers present a weird paradox. They’re not last year’s team, as much as Devan Dumes might wish they were. They’re definitely better — you can see the heightened level of play almost immediately, from Rivers to Christian Watford (man, is it nice to have an athletic big man with touch in an IU uniform again) to Derek Elston to Maurice Creek, who might just become my favorite player on this year’s team.

But this year’s Hoosiers are not a good team. There is a long way to go from “better than 6-25″ to “good.” And so while last year a win like Monday night’s might have been cause for minor excitement — IU led by 20! IU scored 69 points! — this year, it feels harder to process. So, am I supposed to be excited that IU seems borderline competent again? Or should I be depressed by the fact that an 18-turnover game at home against USC-Upstate has me considering excitement? See what I mean?

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ITH Super Happy Fun Time Player Profile: Tijan Jobe

by in Commentary | October 14th, 2009

wcs_tall_0105z_tcHoosier Hysteria is on the horizon and it’s time for Inside the Hall’s player-by-player breakdown of the 2009-2010 Indiana Hoosiers. Today: Tijan Jobe.

I don’t feel confident about much in my life. I’m wrong about a lot, and even the stuff I get right leaves room for doubt. But if there is something I feel wholly confident stating, it is that — and I say this without the slightest hint of exaggeration — the Hoosiers’ most important player in 2009-10 will be Tijan Jobe.

Of course, this should come as no surprise to any faithful Indiana basketball fan. If you paid attention last year, you saw the seeds of what should turn out to be a legendary IU basketball career begin to sprout. Jobe is a dominant big man, a versatile force on the inside, a veritable monster from end to end. Some players, if they’re big and strong enough, earn the nickname “Baby Shaq.” Little known fact: When Shaq first started playing basketball, they called him “Baby Tijan.”

Perhaps the highlight of the 2008-09 season was watching Jobe enter games at crucial moments and simply take over. Few players have that quality, but Tijan is one of them. It was a shame Jobe didn’t play more minutes last year, but one can understand why: Tom Crean clearly made the strategic decision to keep Tijan on the bench in an attempt — futile though it may have been — to keep Jobe’s profile low. In 2009-10, the Big Ten better look out. No such mercy will be granted. Jobe will be freed. And it will be spectacular.

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ITH Super Happy Fun Time Player Profile: Verdell Jones

by in Commentary | October 8th, 2009

showHoosier Hysteria is on the horizon and it’s time for Inside the Hall’s player-by-player breakdown of the 2009-2010 Indiana Hoosiers. Today: Verdell Jones.

In a year of horrific gosh-they-just-play-so-hard basketball, Verdell Jones was a pleasant surprise. Whether he’s anything more than that — whether he’s a legitimate Big Ten point guard, or merely a seat-saver for the likes of Jeremiah Rivers — is the predominant question facing him in 2009-10.

But first, his 2008-09. Jones was second on the team in minutes in 2008-09, which, considering the frequency with which Daniel Moore played, is a testament to how bad the Hoosiers were last year; there were times when Jones and Moore actually shared the floor. Jones was second on the team in points per game to Devan Dumes, but he did it at a more efficient rate, with a slightly better effective field goal percentage than Dumes. (Dumes made more threes, though, so take that as you will.) But Dumes, as turnover-prone and erratic as he was, actually committed fewer turnovers than Jones, who gave the ball away over three times a game. That is not good, especially not from a point guard.

The real revelation with Verdell Jones comes in the eye test. He has the calm, casual manner of someone used to controlling games. He can hit outside shots and slash to the rim — his slash is more of glide, but you know what I mean — and his passing ability is probably his best attribute. Even with explosive recruits on the horizon, the Hoosiers still need scoring; if Jones can provide an extra threat, all the better.

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See IU basketball players stand outside an IU football game

by in Media | April 9th, 2009

How well do you know the IU Hoosiers? How likely are you to go to an Indiana football game this year? Exactly the IU athletic department’s point: Why not kill both birds with the same stone? Hence the following event. Get hyped!

Indiana University men’s basketball coach Tom Crean has announced his program will hold a Fan Appreciation Tailgate on Saturday April 18, at 11:30 a.m. in the Mellencamp Pavilion. The event, which is free, will be held prior to the start of the annual spring football game which begins at 2 p.m. next door at Memorial Stadium.

“I thought this would be a great way for our players and coaches to interact with our great fans in a very informal and fun setting,” said Crean. “Our fans are the best in the country and we wanted the opportunity to thank them personally and to tie it in with the spring football game is another added bonus.”

The first 90 minutes of the tailgate will include interaction with the players and coaches and games for the kids. At 1 p.m., Coach Crean and his staff will publicly announce their 2008-09 team awards recognizing several of the players at that time.

If you notice, the above link contains a photo of Tijan Jobe scoring a basket. So what they say is true. Legends do exist.

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Why They’ll Win It All: Villanova

by in Opponents | April 1st, 2009

Throughout the week, we’ll be running small capsules on the remaining Final Four teams, stating why they’ll win it all. Next up: Villanova.

Villanova is just barely a sleeper in this Final Four, in so far as no one thought any non-No. 1 seeds would make it to the Final Four. (With the possible exception of Memphis, but that didn’t go so well.) But in their run to the tournament, Villanova has showcased exactly what makes them so dangerous to teams: their complete and utter understanding of how to play fast-placed basketball.

A lot of times people associate high-tempo stuff with a willy nilly style, a style that seeks to deconstruct what most of us spent our entire childhoods learning about basketball. Get back on defense. Four passes before a shot. (Via Norman Dale.) Get good looks. Make the extra pass. But Villanova, and other teams like them, have shown that a good team can be fast-paced and pressing without abandoning any of those core concepts. With enough practice, they can have the best of both worlds.

That’s what Villanova brings to the table. North Carolina wants to run. Most teams want to slow North Carolina down. But Villanova won’t — it has a super capable group of guards, and its center, Dante Cunningham, is perhaps at his best when running the floor. Unlike most teams, Villanova will be able to run with UNC, and be efficient while doing so.

That’s the thing about Villanova’s style. It actualizes those guards, and when they’re on, when they’re hitting shots, Villanova can pour it on. They’re the real deal, and when they’re efficient, they can beat anyone in the country. That’s why they’ll win it all.

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